January 09 2017

Icelandic Festival of Manitoba Plans to Open New Park!

The 128th annual festival will be held August 4-7, 2017.

Photo credit: Icelandic Festival of Manitoba

For 127 years, the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba has celebrated Icelandic heritage in Gimli, Manitoba. For the 128th celebration of the festival, the volunteer organization is planning to open Viking Park, built around the city’s 15-foot viking statue. "The board of the Icelandic Festival wanted to give back to its host community to thank them for all of those years of allowing us to have our festival in Gimli," said Chris Brown, executive director of the festival.

Viking Park will consist of three different gardens - Troll Storm Garden, Elf Garden and Breakwater Garden. Fans of the festival and Icelandic heritage can help build the park by purchasing personalized stones for $125-$1,250. The stones will be placed throughout the park, and the personalized messages will be written in the runic alphabet of the Vikings!

The festival plans to begin construction once the snow melts in the spring. The organization has already raised about $500,000 through charitable donations but still needs another $300,000 to complete the project. Click here to donate to the project!

Have you attended the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba? Let us know by tweeting at us @IcelandNatural!